Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

19 Jun, 10 AM - 01 Oct, 02 AM

Amphibians are primary and secondary consumers in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, but ecological impacts of current worldwide amphibian declines are scantly documented. In addition, infection with the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), shown to be a driver of these declines, may have sublethal effects that shape amphibian life-history and ecological interactions. In the Sierra Nevada, mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa and R. sierrae) have experienced wide-spread local extinctions due to infection with Bd, severing many of the trophic connections characteristic of alpine lake communities. In 2009, an experiment was conducted in backcountry lakes, to study the interactions of R. sierrae tadpoles with Baetid mayflies and epiphytic producers, but environmental variability obfuscates clear interactions. The 2010 mesocosm experiment will minimize this variability, strenghtening conclusions of the two experiments. This will be combined with an examination of sublethal effects of Bd on tadpoles and recently metamorphosed subadult frogs. The combination of these studies will optimize the use of amphibians collected from the wild and the short Sierra field season. In addition, we hope that it will indirectly provide information regarding the loss of infection in frogs with Bd observed in 2008 and 2009 mesocosm studies, and offer a built in contingency for this phenomenon. If loss of infection occurs again, we will still gain information from the consumer interaction component of the experiment.

Visit #20596 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 21232 | Research

A combined study: alpine lake primary consumer interactions, and effects of infection with Bd on Rana sierrae tadpole growth and metamorphosis success.

research_scientist - University of California, Santa Barbara

Reservation Members(s)

Thomas C. Smith Jun 19 - Oct 1, 2010 (105 days)
Group of 2 Undergraduate Student Jun 19 - Oct 1, 2010 (105 days)

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Dorm 3 Jun 19 - Oct 1, 2010
Office 3 Jun 19 - Oct 1, 2010
Q2 3 Jun 19 - Oct 1, 2010